Hawthorne police spokesman Lt. Scott Swain told the Daily Breeze the decision is for the officers’ safety after the uniformed officer shot the dog four times on Sunday.

A cellphone video that had more than 3.7 million views on YouTube by Thursday morning shows the dog, named Max, being shot after scrambling out of a car’s back seat through a window and lunging at officers who had handcuffed its master.

The dog’s owner, Leon Rosby, says police needlessly killed his dog. His lawyer, Michael Gulden, said Rosby’s complaint will be added to an existing lawsuit Rosby has against police.